Nothing Stays the Way that it Was
by GoingVintage
Summary: A chance meeting in a hospital starts something that both of them are powerless to stop. Puckleberry future fic.


**Author's Note: This is to fulfill fictable prompt #7 - Torrid. (Fictable is over on my LJ: goingvintage / livejournal. / com.)**

* * *

By the time he pushed through the doors of Lima Memorial Hospital, Noah Puckerman's fingers were cramped from gripping the paper in his hand. He could feel his ears burning with anger and knew his neck was red when he approached the receptionist area of the emergency room. The woman behind the counter looked up and gave him a familiar smile.

"Hello, Noah. Elise is with a patient right now but she'll be out soon if you want to have a seat."

Puck wordlessly nodded and stalked over to a chair in the corner of the busy waiting room. He threw himself down with such force that the chair moved a few inches and a woman across the aisle looked up from her _Redbook_ magazine long enough to shoot him a stony glare. He sat waiting, his fingers still gripping the paper, as his eyes darted around the room. His foot began tapping nervously and soon, the floor was practically shaking from the speed and power of his movements. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to inhale calmly and control the ragged, jerky breaths that had been stealing his air since he'd gotten home from his mother's house and checked the mail.

He saw the door open and the figure of his tall, auburn-haired wife came into view. She looked around the waiting room and spied her husband but shrunk slightly when she saw the tell-tale lines crossing his forehead. She motioned for him to follow her and he did, out through the emergency entrance and around to the employee smoking bay.

"Noah, I'm busy...what's up?" She shoved her hand through her curly mane and blew out a breath.

"What's up?" Puck shoved the crinkled paper into his wife's hand. "_That's_ what's fucking up."

Elise looked down at the paper in front of her and her face flushed. Her mouth opened and then closed again as her eyes glanced over the words. When she looked up, her eyes were cloudy. "What am I supposed to say?"

Puck crossed his arms, the shirt riding up over his biceps. "Maybe you could explain why the fuck you charged $2500 last month alone? Holy fuck, Elise. Look at the minimum payment! We don't have the money to pay this shit! Why do you keep doing this?"

Elise wrinkled the paper in her own hand and balled her fist in anger. Glaring up at her husband, she barked, "You're fucking gone for months at a time, Noah. It's lonely here. What else am I supposed to do? I spend time with my mother, hang out with my friends, work, and sleep. Shopping is my escape!"

"That's fucking bullshit and you _know_ it. You just use my deployment as an excuse to spend every goddamn dime we make. How the fuck do you propose we pay for this?"

"I'm a nurse, Noah. I make plenty of money!"

Puck scoffed. "Yeah, and we have a fucking mortgage and two car payments. My salary plus yours barely covers it all and then you go do this shit? You're taking it all back. I don't care where you fucking bought it but it's all going back."

"The hell it is!" Elise screamed. "Just because you're home on leave does not give you the right to dictate what I do. I'm not returning anything. You can just get the fuck over it."

Puck exhaled and dropped his hands. "I'm tired of this bullshit, Elise."

"So am I, Noah," she snapped.

Glaring, Puck stepped away. "Ya know what? Fuck this. I'm outta here. I'll see you later."

Elise watched the broad shoulders of her husband as he retreated back into the hospital and disappeared from view. Sighing, she shoved the credit card bill in her pocket and went back to work.

...

Puck stormed back through the ER and down the hall toward the parking lot. As he turned the corner, he nearly slammed into a small woman who was barreling down the hallway. Her purse fell off her shoulder and onto the floor as she struggled to maintain her grasp on her coffee cup.

"Shit! Sorry!" Puck exclaimed, diving for the bag. When he picked it up, he extended his hand and his gaze fell on a very familiar set of brown eyes.

"Rachel Berry?" he asked, clearly shocked at the woman in front of him. She was still as small and as trim as she had been but in the nine years since he'd seen her, she'd changed, too. Her hair was short, cropped into a pixie cut and her face was free of make-up, her cheeks rosy. But her eyes, which used to be so bright and wide, seemed dark and droopy. She was wearing a pair of tight-fitting pants and a long, flowing sweater that dipped between her breasts.

"Noah?" Her voice was breathy and she did little to hide the fact that she was stunned. Her eyes washed over him, taking in his dark jeans and deep blue Air Force sweatshirt. He had a baseball cap pushed down over his head and his hands were shoved deep into his pockets. Other than the lines around his eyes and the fact that his skin seemed bronzer than she remembered, he had changed very little in the years since she'd seen him last.

"What the hell are you doing in town? You're never around anymore!" Puck leaned against the wall, a genuine smile coming over his face for one of the few times since he'd gotten home from the Middle East two weeks before.

Rachel shifted in her boots and glanced at the floor. "Dad's here…he had a stroke two days ago and Daddy called me right away. I caught the first flight from New York."

Puck watched as sadness came over her face and felt guilty for having been so enthused to see her. "Fuck, Rachel…that's awful. I'm sorry. How is he?"

Rachel lifted her head and met his eyes. "He's stable. He's not able to talk and he seems confused by everything but there's no paralysis at least."

Puck stared at her for a moment and realized that she looked tired, if not completely exhausted. "Well…I hope he improves anyway. Are you in town long?"

"Just for a few days. I can't miss work for too long…bills to pay and all."

Puck snorted bitterly. "Don't I fuckin' know it." He glanced around the hospital and then leaned slightly closer to Rachel. "I see you were about to leave…you wanna maybe go get a drink or something? To catch up?"

Rachel thought for a moment, her thoughts traveling first upstairs to her father and then back to the man standing in front of her. After a moment, she smiled. "Sure, that'd be great. I'm headed to my hotel so we can hit the bar there, if you'd like."

Together, they walked outside into the cold Ohio evening. "Why are you staying at a hotel? Your fathers live in Lima."

Rachel walked up to her rental car and shook her head. "Not anymore. They moved about a year ago. They bought an old farmhouse about an hour outside of Lima. I could've stayed there, I suppose, but I wanted to be closer. And my hotel is the Sheraton just up the street. Meet you in the bar?"

Puck nodded and watched as her long legs slid inside the dark vehicle. When she pulled her other leg in, he said, "see ya there," and pushed the door closed. He watched her start up her car and then jogged over to his own.

A few minutes later, he was parking in the lot at the hotel and pocketing his keys as he walked inside the bar. Rachel was already sitting in a booth in the corner and she motioned him over. He slid easily into the seat across from her and grinned.

"So how has New York been treating the great Rachel Berry?"

"Like she's a dime a damn dozen, actually." Rachel slumped in her seat, her sweater gaping and affording Puck a view of the edge of her black-lace bra. He swallowed and felt his breath quicken. He should not be as attracted to this woman as he was. Pulling his eyes from the olive skin of her small breasts, he looked up at her face and questioned her. "Things rough?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded. "I tried for years and years to make it on Broadway but…I don't think it's in the cards for me. So I do shows on off-off-off Broadway that barely get any viewership and make just enough money to survive."

Puck leaned back in his seat and smiled at the waitress who approached to take their order. "I'll have a Budweiser. Rachel?"

"Vodka and cranberry on the rocks, please," she ordered cordially.

The waitress walked away and Puck looked back at Rachel. "That fucking sucks for you. I thought you'd blow them away."

"So did I," Rachel mused bitterly. She adjusted the collar on her sweater and then sat up straighter. "So what about you, Noah? What do you do? Married? Kids?"

The waitress returned with their drinks and Puck took a long draw from his glass. Rachel sipped her drink and waited on his answer. "I'm a maintenance office with the Air Force, actually, which means I repair planes. Just got back from an 18-month deployment in the Middle East."

Rachel was wide-eyed. "Really, Noah? I have to tell you that I'm shocked. I never pegged you for a military man."

"Yeah, well neither did I. But when I couldn't get into college and knew that I didn't want to end up working at Burt Hummel's fucking garage, I knew I had to do something, so I enlisted."

"Do you like it?"

Puck took another drink. "Fucking love it, really. It's a regimented life and it takes some adjusting but I've been in for nearly 9 years now." Puck stopped speaking and Rachel watched a faraway look come into his eyes. "But it's a bitch on the marriage, though."

Rachel took another sip and shifted in her seat, slipping one hand under her thigh to protect it against the chill of the room. "So you are married?"

"Yeah…five years now. Elise works as an ER nurse at the hospital."

"What's she like?" Rachel was curious about what kind of woman Noah would choose for a wife. The fact that he was married at all was like a splash of cold water to her senses. He never seemed like the marrying type and she found herself struggling to envision his wife.

"When we got married? She was passionate and sexy and driven and amazing."

Rachel listened as his voice trailed off, leaving words unspoken. "But now?"

Puck gave her a frustrated smile. "Now she bitches all the time, hates the fact that I'm in the military, spends so much goddamn money that I think we're going to go bankrupt, and doesn't seem to give a shit that I'm home."

Rachel felt her heart throb in sympathy for her former classmate. He seemed so frustrated and miserable. Without realizing it, her hand slid across the table and she gripped his fingers in hers. "I'm sorry you're unhappy, Noah. I can't pretend I know what that's like. I've never even gotten close to getting married. My relationships usually end abruptly."

"Really?" He cocked an eyebrow. "I find that surprising."

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Well," he looked down at the remaining foam in his glass. "You...you were always so passionate about fucking everything in high school that I always imagined you'd be like that...everywhere."

Rachel stared at him. "Meaning?"

Puck smirked at her and took a drink before continuing. "Meaning..." He grinned broadly and leaned forward slightly. "Meaning, I thought you'd be a fucking wild woman in the sack and don't see any guy willingly walking away from that shit."

Rachel blushed as his eyes lifted and met his. There was a look in them that she couldn't quite place. Longing? Memory? Understanding? His gaze made her heart beat faster and she glanced away from him as she felt the heat continue to rise in her cheeks. She opened her mouth and, after a few seconds, found her words. "I'm...I'm definitely passionate in that aspect, Noah...but it's the other part of me that seems to drive men away... And even the best sex can't keep someone around if they're not happy."

Puck laughed bitterly. "Don't I fucking know it." Puck took a sip of his now half-empty beer and studied Rachel discreetly. She was still so fucking gorgeous and the short haircut seemed to accentuate her cheekbones and her eyes. She almost looked exotic. He found himself wondering about that wild side of her and felt his cock stir in his pants. He shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable and ignore his arousal.

Rachel glanced around, her eyes scanning the room. "If you'll excuse me, I need to visit the ladies room." She slid from the bar and Puck watched her walk away. Her jeans clung to her ass and her thighs and he let out an audible groan as he watched her hips sway. She was fucking _dangerous_. He knew he needed to finish his beer and get the fuck out of there because the longer they sat reminiscing, the dirtier his thoughts turned. And while he'd had reactions like that to attractive women during his five years of marriage, he'd never acted on them. But his gut told him that Rachel Berry could tempt the fuck out of him.

Puck sucked his beer down while he waited for Rachel to return. When she came back, she had her sweater draped over her arm and the tight shirt she was wearing underneath was now on display. Puck felt his cock throb again when his eyes raked over the way the fabric clung to her tits. He instantly knew that had to get out of there soon or things would not end well.

He felt Rachel staring at him as his eyes appraised her and then shifted in his seat as she sat down. "So…you ever talk to any of the old crew?"

Rachel took a drink and shook her head. "Are you crazy? They barely tolerated me in high school…there was certainly no keeping in touch. You?"

"Talk to Finn every once in a while. He's married and has two kids. And I hear from Artie about once a year but as for everybody else, nah. Nothing to say to any of them really. Keeping those high school friendships alive take more work than I'm willing to give."

Rachel let out a small sigh and shook her head. "I've thought about looking up Mercedes or Tina just to say hello but I always end up too busy and forget. Have you seen Mr. Schuester?"

Puck nodded. "He's still at McKinley. Still teaching Spanish and probably still rapping. But the Glee Club is really huge now…we started it but now they have, like, 30 or 40 kids in it. My sister was in it for four years."

"How is your sister now?"

"In college. Driving my mom crazy. I hear from her a lot. She and I would do the whole webcam thing when I was deployed. She's proud of her big brother," Puck smirked smugly.

"As she should be," Rachel offered quickly. "So you were deployed for 18 months? What was that like?"

Puck thought about his time in Iraq. "Fuckin' hot…sandy…and then the nights were so goddamn cold that you'd forget your were in the desert until the sun came up the next day and fried the shit out of you all over again."

"And that kind of life is rewarding?"

"Absolutely," Puck answered quickly.

Rachel stirred her drink with the brown stir-stick and looked up at him. "Do you still play the guitar?"

Puck grinned. "Oh hell yeah, every fucking day. Kept me sane in Iraq."

Rache looked at him curiously. "You played over there, too?"

"Sure. Couple of guys and I would jam in the evenings. We were actually pretty good. My guitar goes everywhere with me, Rachel. Always has."

Leaning back in her seat, Rachel smiled brightly at him. "I'm glad to hear that, Noah. You were always so talented...I'd hate to hear that you'd given it up."

"Never," he answered quickly. "I'll play til the day I die."

Rachel grinned at Puck and began to question him about his mother. She had known Maggie decently well thanks to the small Jewish community in Lima and had always thought his mother to be slightly odd.

Soon, their drinks were gone. Rachel knew it was time to excuse herself but couldn't make herself actually move from her seat. In fact, she hated to even look away from Noah. His eyes seemed to hold hers and she felt herself wanting to reach out and lay a hand on his jaw. She got such a sense of sadness from him. She could tell that under all that potentent maleness and sexuality was a man who was seeking something. What, she didn't know.

"Well, I guess I'd better go," Puck finally said, glancing at the time on his phone.

Rachel nodded. "I should probably get to bed. I need to be back at the hospital early for Dad's tests in the morning."

Puck dropped some cash on the table and they headed toward the exit together. They walked down the hallway and when they passed the ballroom, Rachel heard Puck snicker. She cocked her head toward him and then he asked, "d'you ever think about the night of the prom?"

The prom. Rachel remembered the prom well. Noah had been crowned King and Mercedes had won Queen. Kurt was thrilled and had declared a Glee coup over the popular kids. After the dance, they'd all headed to the very same hotel they were in now and hung out. They'd rented about a half-dozen rooms and made their way between them, singing and drinking and being generally obnoxious. Rachel had gone to the prom with Finn but he'd gotten drunk soon after they'd arrived at the hotel and passed out in his and Puck's room. The crowd had thinned and then there had only been a few of them left...and that's when _it _happened.

As Rachel stepped out into the hallway, the dim light hid her blush. "I…I remember it well enough," she answered honestly. After everyone had left, a tipsy Rachel had demanded that Puck dance with her in the room. They'd danced and then he kissed her and then his hands were between her thighs and finally, he'd gone down on her in that hotel room. She'd been tipsy but it had been her first foray into the art of oral lovemaking and she'd remembered his mouth on her thighs and between her legs…it had been a heady experience all those years ago and one that hadn't been forgotten. Afterward, they'd gone back to acting like everything was normal and they'd never mentioned it again until that moment on that cold Ohio night. She shifted at the awkward arousal she felt at the memory and her eyes went to Puck's face. His eyes were wide and he his lips were parted like he was remembering that night and those actions, too. Rachel felt the burning that had settled low inside her hours ago start to simmer harder and she knew that she had to leave _right then,_ before she said or did something completely stupid. Pulling her gaze away from his face, she pushed the door open and stepped out into the freezing air.

"Shouldn't you be inside?" he asked her.

"I'll walk you to your car and then head to my room," she said softly. They stepped through the berm of the hardened, week-old snow and stopped in front of his car. Rachel eyed him as they stood there and felt her body go weak when his eyes swept over her.

"S'fucking good to see you, Rach," Puck said softly, his breath creating a cloud of condensation between them.

"You too, Noah. It's always great to catch up with old friends. And it was quite entertaining to be back at this hotel with you...under much more innocent pretenses this time, of course."

Puck cocked his head curiously and looked at her. There was so much he could say at that moment. And if he said what he was thinking, there was an incredible chance that she'd slap the shit out of him. But as he stood there, his eyes taking in her lips and her breasts and how unbelievably gorgeous she looked at that moment, he stepped closer to her body and went with his gut. "If this is so innocent, why do I want to touch you right now?" His words came out of left field and Rachel's mouth gaped, her eyes wide and dilated.

"Noah…I—" Her breathing was suddenly ragged as an intoxicating mix of lust and fear poured into her blood.

Puck was standing in front of her now, his face inches from hers. "—don't fucking pretend, Rachel. I see the way you're having trouble breathing right now." He stood just an inch from her ear, his voice like velvet. "Are you wet, Rachel? You want me to fuck you, don't you?"

Rachel closed her eyes and shuddered, her chest slumping against his. His head came down and he crashed his lips against hers. His hands slid inside her coat and underneath her sweater, sliding up her abdomen to cup her breasts through the thin material of her bra. Thumbing her nipples again and again, he grunted when they were hard under his touch.

Rachel's brain screamed to pull away. He was a married man…she _knew_ this. Finally, she tore her lips from his. "Noah, w—we can't do this…It's not right."

Puck pressed his lower half against Rachel, his erection burning against her belly, as her back made contact with the cold car. She jumped and pressed herself more fully against him and Puck groaned. "I don't care if it's wrong. You want me to fuck you… And goddamn, I want to fuck you _so hard_…"

Rachel's eyes searched over the deserted parking lot as she tried to make a decision. He was right. She wanted him so much that her entire body throbbed from the heat of him just being so near. He'd always been so male that it was nearly intoxicating. His body oozed power and passion and sex and age and experience had only intensified it on every level. She'd been uncomfortably turned on since she'd encountered him in the hallway back at the hospital and now, her entire body hummed for his touch. Rachel stepped away from her him and shook her head, turning her back on him. "You're married, Noah…I can't be the other woman."

Puck slipped behind her and dropped his arms around her waist, sliding over the front of her jeans. Rachel stiffened, her mouth wide, as she tried to anticipate his next move. When his fingers deftly unsnapped and unzipped her jeans and his hand pushed inside her panties, Rachel let out a soft cry. He groaned into her ear, finding her damp and slick, as he slid his index finger over her clit. "Let me fuck you, Rachel," he urged in her ear. "You want this shit as much as I do."

Rachel felt her legs involuntarily part, giving him access to move his hand inside the tight confines of her panties and pants. He slid the tip of his index finger inside her pussy and swirled it inside her before pulling it out abruptly. Puck walked around to her front and pulled her coat closed to hide the gaping of her jeans before he brushed his lips against her mouth again. "Decision time, Rachel…"

"Noah…I…I will admit that I want this… God, _yes_, I want this. But you have a wife…"

"Who hates my fucking guts and I'm over it, Rachel. I'm not talking about her." He pressed his forehead against hers and his hand slid inside her panties again, two fingers pressing against her clit so hard that her breath caught in her throat. "Think about it, Rachel…my cock ramming into your pussy… Shoulda fucking happened years ago. And I shouldn't have stopped that night at the prom after going down on you. I shoulda fucked the shit out of you then…maybe then I wouldn't want to do it so badly right now."

Puck's free hand slid over the top of Rachel's sweater and cupped her breast again. He felt Rachel nod against his chest as the willpower to resist him left her because of his words and because of the feel of his hands on her. "Fine…yes…God, yes, Noah…"

Puck's hands slid from her body and he grabbed her hand, pulling her back into the hotel with him. "What room?" he barked when they were inside the building.

"113…just down that hallway."

They advanced rapidly down the hall and Puck looked around, his eyes surveying his surroundings, while Rachel dug through her purse to find the key card. As soon as the lock beeped, Puck pressed her inside the door and then kicked it closed behind them. He came up behind Rachel and pulled her coat from her body, throwing it on the floor. Pressing himself against her from behind, he jerked her shirt over her head and unclasped her bra. His fingers hooked along the straps and tossed the bra on the floor. His big hands covered her bare breasts quickly as his lips seared across her shoulders and up her neck to her jaw.

"Gonna fuck you," he murmured in her ear. "Gonna fuck you so goddamn hard, Rachel." Rachel groaned and quickly pushed her pants and panties to the floor and stepped out of them. Turning from his arms, she crawled onto the bed and flipped over on her back, reclining against the pillows. He looked at her as if she were to be devoured. Smiling seductively because she'd never felt so desired in her life, she pulled her legs up and pushed her thighs wide, giving her a full view of her pussy. His mind jolted him into a frozen position because, for the first time in five years, he was staring at the downy dark curls of Rachel instead of the sparse red curls of his wife, Elise. Her face flashed through his eyes and he pushed it away, closing his eyes and swallowing. When he opened them again, Rachel was watching him through hooded lids, her finger rubbing her clit as her hips undulated slowly against the bed. When he met her eyes, she slid a finger inside herself and he watched as her head fall back as she pressed her pussy against the her own hand.

"Goddamn," he rasped. All thoughts of guilt and anger slipped from his mind as he watched her pleasure herself in front of him. She lifted her head and slid her finger out, bringing it to her lips. She slid the digit between her lips and sucked. Puck grunted and then pulled his sweatshirt and t-shirt over his head and dropped them on the floor by the bed. With his eyes locked on the valley between her spread thighs, he shucked his pants and boxers down. Rachel watched as he stripped quickly, biting her lip and moaning when his cock bobbed into view.

"Oh god, Noah," she groaned, her eyes taking in the large head. He climbed on the bed, sliding up between her thighs, and stroked his cock in front of her. Rachel scooted forward and used her feet and legs to arch herself up so that her dripping center brushed against the head of his cock. Puck's arm went around her waist and he grunted, pushing his hips forward to seat himself fully inside her. Rachel grunted loudly as his large cock stretched her wide open to accommodate him. When he bottomed out against her cervix, she dropped her hips to the bed and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Fuck me, Noah, please," she begged. Puck pulled out and she mewled, the mewl turning to a squeak when he pounded quickly back into her. He grabbed one of her legs and uncurled it from around her back, stretching it up to throw it over his shoulder. One hand held him up over her as the other hand plucked at the rosy nipple puckered beneath his fingers.

Over and over again, he thrust himself inside her. Beneath him, Rachel cried out, louder and louder, groaning unintelligible words in between begging him to go harder and deeper. Puck suddenly stopped moving and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth when Rachel squeezed her pussy muscles around him.

"Noah," she whined. "Fuck me!" Her hand slid up to his shoulders and pulled his mouth down to hers. When their lips locked, he slowly began sliding inside of her again.

"Fucking good, Rachel…you're so fucking wet… I knew you wanted this…" he grunted into her ear as he thrust harder and faster.

"I'm going to…" Rachel cut herself off when she arched her back and cried his name loudly as she spasmed around his cock, her orgasm roiling inside her so fast that she shook.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck," Puck groaned, quickly jerking out of her body. He fell forward on his arms, his head against hers, as his cock pulsed his come out across her stomach.

He shuddered, the sweat sliding down his forehead into his eyes, and flopped back onto his back. Puck turned his head toward Rachel and watched her breasts rise and fall as she took deep breaths. His eyes drifted down to her stomach where his come glistened in the soft light. Looking around, he spied the Kleenex on the table and pulled a few out. Rolling on his side, he ran the tissue across her belly to collect the moisture and then tossed the used tissues on the floor. Rachel's hand slid up his shoulder and settled in his short hair as he dipped his head and ran his lips across her hipbone. Turning quickly so that he was on all fours, he pushed her thighs wide and ran his tongue across her swollen pussy. Rachel bucked violently and cried softly, pushing her body against his face.

"Remember this?" he asked from between her thighs.

"Oh lord, do I…" she groaned.

Puck's mouth settled over her engorged clit and sucked it between his teeth gently. Rachel's hips bucked beneath him as she was instantly overwhelmed with the need to come again. "Noah, please…" she moaned. Puck chuckled and sunk his tongue inside her pussy while his thumb brushed across her clit. Rachel pushed herself up to look down at him as he fucked her with his mouth. His long tongue darted out again and again, stroking her and then sliding inside her until she was trembling.

"Noah, please," she begged. Puck grinned against her body and slid his tongue out and across her thigh before sliding up her body and pressing his cock inside her again. Minutes later, he was coming on her thigh as she trembled from her second orgasm of the night.

After being nearly unable to move for a few minutes, Puck pushed himself up on pair of weak legs. "When you leaving town?"

Rachel sat up, rolling off the bed and onto her feet. Puck watched her appreciatively, his eyes raking over her naked flesh. If he didn't have to leave, he'd fuck her again right then.

"Not for four days," Rachel said softly. She stood naked, watching him get dressed quickly.

"Can…can I see you tomorrow?" he asked.

Rachel hesitated. "I shouldn't."

Her honest answer took him by surprise. "Please?" he asked gruffly.

Rachel sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging, and she closed her eyes before nodding at him. "Yes…what time?"

"Um…7pm? Does that work for you?"

"That should be fine."

When Puck was dressed, he walked over to Rachel and pulled her against his body. "That was incredible," he said softly.

Rachel bobbed her head in agreement. "It was."

Puck kissed her softly, pushing her bangs away from her eyes. "Get a shower…I kinda left you a mess." His eyes glanced down at the come still on her thigh. Rachel blushed under his scrutiny and reached to kiss him again.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered. She walked him to the door and he kissed her one last time before slipping out the door. When he was gone, Rachel closed it and leaned her head against it. She couldn't believe that had just happened… She'd just been responsible for Noah's infidelity. Her chest felt tight and heavy but her body still throbbed from what he'd done to her and how he'd made her feel. With a heavy sigh, she padded into the bathroom and closed the door.

…

When Puck walked inside his house, Elise was sitting in front of the television. "Where ya been?" she asked the moment he came into her view.

"Out," he said simply as he pulled his coat off and hung it up.

"We're not done with our conversation from earlier," she called hautily.

"Yes, we are," he muttered. "I'm going to bed. Sleeping in the guest room."

Without another word, he slipped into the guest room and into the adjoining bathroom. Turning on the shower water, he stared at himself in the mirror. Five years of marriage and he'd never been unfaithful before now. Then again, he'd never had such a strong desire before now. But Elise was pushing, pushing him and he was afraid she was angling toward a divorce. But as he glanced down at his chest and noticed a scratch from Rachel's fingernail, he couldn't find it in himself to give a damn at that moment. Stepping under the hot spray of the shower, he washed the evidence of his dalliances away and pushed the guilt from his mind.

* * *

Puck gently rapped on the door to Rachel's hotel room the next night at 7pm. She pulled it open and smiled shyly at him before moving aside so he could enter. He pulled his coat off and hung it up and then sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at her awkwardly.

"How's your dad?" he asked, watching as she moved about the room, straightening things out of the sheer need to be moving.

"He's slightly improved. The doctor said we will see slow improvements and so far, we have." Rachel turned to face him, leaning against the dresser. She stared at Puck as he looked back at her and then smiled. "I don't know why I'm nervous. I guess...I guess I didn't think you'd actually come back tonight."

Puck stood up and stepped in front of her, his hand reaching out to bracket her hips. "Why not?" He cocked his head and his eyes settled on her lips, watching as her tongue darted out to wet them.

"Because you're married and because we shouldn't be doing this and because I've never done anything like this before and I feel awful about it." As she spoke, her hand slid up his torso and rested against his shoulder. He looked over, watched her fingers grip the fabric of his shirt gently, and then looked down into her eyes.

"This is my first time, too, Rach. I've never even really been tempted before now..."

"Why now?"

Puck shrugged. "I dunno. Miserable marriage. Sick of the bullshit. And...you."

"Me?" Rachel furrowed her brow.

"Fuck, yes, you," Puck said forcefully. "The first time I wanted you, we were 16, Rachel. We're 27 now...and I saw you yesterday and realized that I still wanted you just as fucking bad..."

Rachel shivered softly at his words. "I understand...I mean, I felt the same way."

Puck bent his head and kissed her softly. Rachel leaned into his chest and ran her lips down his neck as her fingers parted the buttons from the holes down the front of his shirt. Puck's head tilted back and his eyes fluttered closed as her lips ran down the hard planes of his abdomen.

"Condoms," he breathed out of nowhere. Rachel pulled her head back from his chest and looked up at him. "Condoms?"

Puck grinned and said, "We didn't discuss it last night...so I brought some...I mean, I don't know about your birth control situation and all that shit and I didn't wanna have to do the whole pull-out thing again...Haven't done that shit since I was a teenager."

Rachel stepped back and began undressing. When she was standing in front of her in just her panties and bra, she said, "I'm on birth control. I'm clean. You can use them if you want but you don't have to."

Puck quickly advanced toward her and cupped her ass in his big hands. "Fuck no, I don't wanna use them. I wanna come inside you so goddamn bad."

Rachel shuddered against him and then grabbed his hand, pulling him onto the bed with her. She needed him _now_. Puck undressed quickly and climbed between her spread thighs. Finding her already wet, he drove in deep. There would be time for foreplay later.

A while later, Puck turned and looked at the clock. 8:43. Elise didn't get off work until midnight and for that, he was relieved because he was nowhere near being ready to say goodbye to Rachel. He'd already fucked her twice and knew that the night was far from over.

Rachel stepped out of the bathroom and flipped the light off. Walking back toward the bed, she pushed the covers back and climbed on top of him.

"My body's sore," she told him softly as she rubbed her center against his softened cock. Puck tangled his hands in her short hair and pulled him down to her, their tongues mingling.

"You wanna stop?" he asked against her lips.

Rachel shook her head quickly. "Oh, no no…merely stating that my muscles are tired."

"We can take it easy for the rest of the night. Order some room service? Maybe watch a movie?"

Rachel looked over at the clock. "What time do you have to leave?"

"Not til around 11 or so…"

Nodding, Rachel climbed off his body and pulled her shirt back on. "Want to order some pizza?"

"Sure." Puck watched Rachel move about the room, her bare ass peeking from beneath her opened button-down shirt. Sitting down next to him on the bed, she shoved the menu at him. "What do you want on your pizza?"

"Don't care…just no pineapple."

Rachel nodded and ordered an all-veggie pizza, quickly hanging up the phone.

"It will be here in 30 minutes," she said. She pushed her shirt back off and slid her body down next to him as he thumbed the television on, the room lighting up from the bluish-glare of the device.

He flipped to one of the movie channels and dropped the remote back onto the nightstand. Rachel turned on her side, her hand sliding down the muscles of his abdomen. Puck groaned as her small fingertips barely brushed along his skin, heating everywhere she touched. When her hand brushed over the curls at the base of his cock, his body jerked in response.

"Fucking playing with fire, baby," he moaned against her ear. Rachel bit her lip and smiled, her eyes wide and glittering. Puck watched her slide down the bed and crawl between his legs, her hand stroking him until he was nearly hard. Then her mouth enveloped him completely and his head fell back, eyes closed, as she sucked him down her throat. She swallowed three times in a row and Puck growled.

"Trying to make me come?" he asked, pushing her her bangs away from eyes so that he could watch her as she sucked him. Rachel nodded and swallowed again as her hand squeezed his balls. She slid his cock out of her mouth and ran the very tip of her tongue down the shaft and sucked one of his balls into her mouth as her hand stroked him quickly, her thumb grazing against the underside of the head until his eyes closed tightly. He bucked his hips against him and she slid him back into her mouth, taking him so deep that the hairs at the base of his cock tickled her nose. Sucking hard, his hands wove through her hair so that he could guide her mouth on him. Squeezing her whole mouth tightly around his flesh, she looked into his eyes as he came. She swallowed everything he gave her and grinned when he slumped against the headboard.

"Fucking hell," he breathed. Rachel slid from the bed and disappeared from the bathroom. When she re-appeared a few minutes later, Puck could smell mouthwash on her breath as she bent to kiss him.

"Get dressed," she ordered. "Pizza will be here soon and we can't eat like this."

Puck started to open his mouth and Rachel clamped her hand tightly over it. "Don't say whatever you were thinking because I'm almost positive that it was vile and disgusting and would make me lose my appetite completely."

Puck let out a muffled laugh and nodded. Pushing her hand from his mouth, he conceded, "You know me too well."

Rachel pressed her lips against his again, sliding down to squeeze his cock. Puck batted her hand away and pulled back. "Get dressed, woman..."

Throwing her clothes back on, Rachel's head jerked up when she heard a knock on the door. Puck quickly slid on his jeans as Rachel opened the door. The pizza guy stood there and Puck shoved a $20 at him before slamming the door closed. He tossed the pizza box on the bed and flipped the lid back. Rachel crawled back onto the bed and sat, one leg out to the side and one tucked under her, as they ate straight from the box while they watched the latest popular reality television show. As Rachel chewed, she realized that this felt almost normal...like a date. And then she nearly laughed out loud when the reality of the situation hit her in the face again. She had little time to think, though, because as soon as they were done eating, Puck peeled her clothes back off and fucked her so hard that she became temporarily unable to think at all.

* * *

Snow was softly falling, his driveway already covered, when Puck walked down to the mailbox. Pulling it open, he grabbed the mail and flipped through it as he walked back toward the house. As he stepped up onto the porch, his eyes fell on the envelope with the big red "Disconnect Notice" printed on the front. Jerking it open, he let the junk mail flutter to the ground as he read. He balled his fists and stormed into the house.

"Elise!" he yelled into the open space of the entry hall.

Hearing her name, Elise peeked her head out from the kitchen. "What?" she asked, irritation in her voice.

"You wanna tell me why we're getting fucking disconnection notices from the electric company? It's 25 goddamn degrees outside!"

Elise looked at the envelope in his hand and shrugged. "Guess I forgot to pay it last month. No biggie." She snatched it from his hands and added, "I'll pay it tomorrow."

Puck jerked it back from her hands. "I'll pay it now but..." he ran his fingers through his hair and then glanced at his wife. "Dammit, Elise...why are you dropping the ball on this shit? When I'm gone, you're supposed to be taking care of everything. What the fuck is your problem?"

Elise glared at her husband and then stomped away, muttering under her breath. He followed her and watched as she threw her coat on and pulled on her boots. "My problem is that I'm married and yet I live like a single woman because my husband is never fucking here!"

"You knew when you married me that the military would take up most of my time. You didn't have a problem then!" he barked.

"Well I do now!" Throwing her purse over her shoulder, she jerked open the door.

"Where you going?"

"To my mother's! Don't fucking wait up!"

Puck watched her leave, his jaw clenched as he tried to calm down. He was so fucking sick and tired of the bullshit. The woman that had just stormed out of their house was not the woman he married. He really didn't know who the fuck she was. When she was gone, Puck stalked out to his car and instinctively headed toward the Sheraton.

When he arrived, there was no answer at Rachel's room. He knew it was early so he went to the bar and had a drink to settle his nerves. As he sucked his beer out of the long-necked bottle, his mind bounced back to his latest fight with Elise. It didn't make any fucking sense the way she'd changed. Hell, he'd met her on base when she was there visiting a friend. She knew the military...she understood it. But during his 18 month deployment, something had changed. Even from across the miles, he'd felt her pulling away and being home had done nothing to bring her back. Puck suspected that she'd had an affair of her own but he had no proof. There was, of course, no incriminating evidence and even if there had been, he certainly couldn't judge her now, considering he'd spent the last two evenings fucking Rachel until they were both exhausted.

Puck took another pull from his beer bottle and thought about the young girl Rachel had been and the woman she had become. She seemed guarded and a bit jaded but underneath the facade, the Rachel Berry he'd known at 16 was still there. But now she was also more worldy and so goddamn passionate and willing that it made him shudder. He hadn't had sex that intense in years. Maybe it was because it was so illicit that made it so hot. Or maybe it was the thrill of sneaking around and breaking the established "rules" of society. Whatever it was, he was fucking addicted and felt like he'd die if he didn't get another hit.

After his beer was gone, Puck wandered out into the lobby and plopped down in one of the overstuffed chairs. He pulled out his phone and thumbed through the latest football scores. When he heard the double doors of the lobby slide open, he lifted his head and spotted Rachel. He stood up quickly and she slowed when she saw him.

"Hi..." She tucked a short, stray hair behind her ear. "Were you waiting long?"

Puck shook his head. "Nah. I didn't mean to show up so early it's just...shit went bad at home and I needed to get out."

Rachel nodded understandingly and said, "I was about to get some dinner. Care to join me?"

Glancing around the lobby, Puck shook his head. "Sure...but can we go somewhere outside of Lima?"

Rachel knew it was because he didn't want to be seen with her and surprisingly, it didn't upset her. "Sure."

Together, they walked out to the parking lot and Puck opened the door for her to climb in. When he got in on his side and started the car, he said, "How 'bout we go to that little cafe in Bluffton."

"That's fine...sounds wonderful. I haven't been there in years."

They drove in silence for a few miles and then Puck flipped on the radio. He quickly turned it from the classic rock station and settled on the top 40 channel instead.

"Any update on your dad?"

"The same," Rachel sighed, leaning her head against the cool glass of the window. "I hate that I'm leaving in two days...I feel so helpless. And by going back to the city, I feel like I'm abandoning him." She sniffled and lifted her hand to wipe a tear from her eye.

Puck didn't know what to say in response so he dropped a reassuring hand on her knee. "I'm sure he understands, Rachel."

"I know," she said sadly. "I just feel so guilty."

"Well can you come back and visit soon?"

Rachel smiled. "The show ends in four weeks and I can come back after that. I hope he's improved by then."

Puck couldn't help that his mind immediately went to the calendar in his head. Four weeks from then, he'd be back on base at Wright-Patterson. Immediately feeling guilty for the fact that he was upset that he wouldn't be able to see her when she returned to Lima, he slid his hand from her leg and placed it back on the steering wheel to concentrate on the road.

"I hope it doesn't get too bad tonight," Rachel said a few minutes later as she watched the snow fall outside the window.

"They said we're only supposed to get a few inches but you know the weather guys," Puck said casually. He flipped on the turn signal and pulled into the cafe parking lot. Once he parked, he and Rachel climbed out and headed for a booth in the back corner.

The looked through the menus that sat on the table for a few minutes and then Puck asked, "Whatcha gettin'?"

Rachel's eyes perused the menu. "Oh, I'm thinking about the vegetable fajitas. I'm starving tonight, Noah."

Puck arched an eyebrow and leered at her. "Eat something that will give you lots of energy..."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him and gave him her first real smile of the evening. "I plan on it, Puckerman."

Laughing at her use of his surname, Puck grinned at the waitress as she took their order. When she was gone, Puck leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him. His foot caught Rachel's boot and he apologized quickly before spreading himself around her legs.

"Rough day?" she asked as she watched him pinch the bridge of his nose.

"You don't even fuckin' know..." he groused.

"I can listen...Noah, if you want to talk about it, I can listen..."

Puck shook his head. "Not burdening you with my bullshit, Rachel. This shit's been a long time coming and you have your own drama to deal with right now. Let's just..." Puck looked out the window at the snow collecting on the vehicles parked outside. "Let's just forget about everything else, okay?"

Rachel shook her head in understanding and slid her hand across the table to grip his fingers in silent acknowledgement. Puck squeezed her fingers and didn't let go; instead, he held onto her hand until their food was delivered a few minutes later.

They began eating and Puck enthusiastically bit into his sandwich. He had barely eaten all day and his stomach was grumbling loudly. Rachel organized her fork and napkin and glass before beginning to eat. While Puck ate, he watched her curiously.

"You're fuckin' weird, Rachel."

Scoffing, Rachel said, "Not at all. I just prefer to be organized."

"It's just food. Fuckin' eat!"

"You're a brute, Noah Puckerman."

Grinning, Puck leaned toward her across the table. "You aren't complaining about my brutish behavior when I'm fucking you hard, are you?"

Rachel blushed and took a bite of her food. As she chewed, she looked thoughtful. "This brutish behavior? It's fine in the bedroom. In fact, I prefer it. It's just outside of the bedroom that I find you to be mildly repugnant."

Puck snorted and took a sip of his Coke and ate silently as he watched Rachel scooting her food on her plate, separating it into smaller portions. When she finally took another bite, he felt slightly relieved. He was serious earlier...she needed energy for later.

Halfway through his pile of French Fries, Puck jerked suddenly and then looked down between his thighs. Rachel's foot, now bootless, was between his legs and was slowly rubbing against his crotch. He pulled his head up to look at her and she smiled coyly before taking a bite. Puck gave her a lecherous grin and went back to his dinner, trying his best to focus on his hunger for food and not on Rachel. When she rubbed her foot directly over his cock and he jumped, she laughed.

"You trying to cut dinner short?" he asked. His hand slid down and grasped her ankle as he pressed her foot more fully against his cock. He shifted slightly in his seat, rubbing her against him and her eyes widened when she felt him harden slightly beneath her arch.

"No," she shook her head. "I'm trying to speed up the after dinner activities."

"Eat faster," he urged.

When the waitress came back to check on them, Puck said, "can you bring us the check? We...we'll wanna get back on the road soon because of the weather."

After she walked way, Rachel laughed. "Oh really, Noah? That's what your hurry is all about?"

Puck grinned and popped the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth. Then he pressed Rachel's foot against his cock again and she gasped because he felt nearly hard now.

"Seriously ready to get the fuck out of here," he muttered under his breath. The waitress approached the table and Rachel asked for a to go box, quickly loading her food into it once it was brought to her.

A few minutes later, they were walking toward Puck's car as the snow continued to fall. Once they were inside, Puck flipped on the wipers and pulled back out onto the road. "You'd better take it slow, Noah. The roads aren't looking so good."

Puck nodded, squinting as the snow whizzed toward the windows. "As usual, they can't fuckin' call storms for shit. I bet we get eight inches outta this." Puck quickly glanced across at Rachel and grinned. "You care if we make a pit stop?"

Rachel looked around, her eyes only taking in the blackness of the night and the snow that careened toward the vehicle. "Where?"

Puck quickly turned the car and headed down a snow-covered gravel road. His eyes scanned the horizon and Rachel wondered where he was taking her. Spying a parking lot behind an old abandoned gas station, Puck pulled in and angled the car right behind the building. Cutting the lights, they were sent into darkness.

"Noah?" Rachel asked. She watched him unbuckle his seat belt and slide his chair back. Then he pulled his coat off and tossed it behind him into the back seat.

"It's going to be a while before we make it back to the hotel," he stated simply. His hands went to his zipper and he unbuttoned and unzipped it, reaching in to pull his cock out. Rachel's mouth opened and she felt her heart start pumping as she watched him slide his cock through his fist. His eyes were on her as he stroked himself and Rachel found herself transfixed and aroused.

"We could be caught," she finally said.

Puck shook his head. "Nah...nobody's out in this." He stroked himself again and said, "Rachel...climb on."

Rachel shuddered as heat shot through her. Quickly, she was tossing her coat into the backseat and sliding her boots off. She raised her hips to push her pants and panties down and Puck watched as she climbed over the console and swung her leg over his lap, wedging it between his thigh and the door. "This is really uncomfortable," Rachel observed as she shifted. Puck nodded, his gaze on her face, as his hand slid out to cup her, his middle finger dipping inside of her. Rachel's back arched and her head fell back back against the steering wheel. She pressed herself down on his finger and grunted when he slid it out. Seconds later, he was slipping his cock inside her and lifting his hips off the seat to impale her on him. Rachel fell forward, her arms winding around his neck, as she found purchase with her knees on the seat and began sliding herself up and down on him. Puck's hands gripped her ass, jerking her hips hard to shift the angle inside her over and over again.

"Noah," she keened in his ear before her lips latched onto his neck and sucked. Puck jumped against her again, now so deep that his cock repeatedly hit against her cervix. Over and over again, he rocked into her as she pushed herself down on him. They were frenzied as their lips locked. Puck's hands found her breasts through her sweater and squeezed her nipples through the layers of fabric.

"You gonna come for me, baby?" he rasped in her ear when he felt his balls start to tighten.

"Noah," she moaned again. "So close...just need to...Oh..."

Puck's hand slid up and he pressed her shoulder until she leaned fully back against the steering wheel, changing the angle once again. "C'mon, Rachel...Fucking come for me, baby...please, baby... I love when that little pussy comes around my cock. C'mon, baby..."

Rachel grunted, his words filling her head and sending sparks of desire through her body, and she shoved herself down on him one last time as she felt herself let go. She screamed his name into the small space of the car and slumped forward against his chest. Puck pounded roughly into her a few more times and then groaned her name as he emptied himself inside her.

They lay together for a few moments, oblivious to even the snow piling up on the car, as they worked to catch their breath. Rachel's thigh started to cramp and so she slowly slid herself off him, wincing as she went, and climbed back into her seat. She slid her hips forward to keep the wetness off the seat as she fished around for some napkins. Carefully, she wiped his come from her thighs and held it against her body as she slipped her panties back on, making sure nothing leaked out. When she pulled them up, she removed the napkin and quickly tossed it out the window. Puck watched in slience, observing how she so carefully worked to make sure no evidence was left on the seat and he realized that she was taking more care to hide this affair than he was and she wasn't even the one who had anything to lose.

Puck slowly slid his pants back up and moaned when he tucked his still semi-hard cock back into his pants. "It's fucking insane how I could just rail you again right now," he observed dryly.

Rachel laughed from across the car. "Why is that, Noah? I must admit that I've been rather impressed with your stamina."

Puck started the car and pulled back out onto the road. "No idea, Rachel. It's just... fuck, I don't know how to describe it."

In the darkness, Rachel nodded as she looked out the window. She couldn't describe it either...

* * *

Puck's hands gripped Rachel's hips tightly as he drove into her repeatedly. She let out a gutteral cry and bucked her body back against him as she felt him swell inside her. Leaning forward, he grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, muttering, "Oh fuck, Rach...come for me, baby," as wave after wave of his orgasm throbbed through his body and out into hers. Puck slid his hand between her thighs and flicked her clit repeatedly until he felt her clench around him, pulling him in deeper even as he softened inside of her. Rachel fell forward, he face muffled against the blankets, until Puck slid out of her and laid down by her side. Slowly rolling onto her side, Rachel winced. "I feel like I've been in a marathon. I'm not quite the dancer I was once. I feel like a contortionist," she laughed.

Puck chuckled and slid his arm under her shoulders, pulling her against him. She tucked her head against his side and laid gentle kisses along his pectoral muscle before closing her eyes.

All day, she'd been ignoring the fact that she was leaving in the morning. She kept telling herself to take each day as it came and not face her departure until she had to. But now, her flight was leaving in less than 12 hours and she knew that Puck would be slipping out of her hotel room for the last time soon to head home. She took a breath and closed her eyes against the unexpected pain that surged through her.

"Rach? You okay?" Puck asked against her hair. "What's wrong?"

She vigorously shook her head and swallowed. "Nothing...I'm fine."

"Liar," he said. "C'mon, tell me."

"No, Noah...it's nothing. Really."

Puck kissed the top of her head and cinched his arm tighter around her. He grabbed her other hand and linked their fingers over his chest. "Is it stupid to say that I'm going to miss this?" Puck asked into the dark.

"No," Rachel answered quietly. "I'm going to miss it, too. And it's stupid to miss something that just started and..." she let her voice trail off as she struggled to search for the words.

"...and?" Puck prodded.

Rachel's words hung in the air for a moment before she finally took a deep breath and said what was on her heart. "...and never had a chance of going anywhere in the first place." She felt Puck's arm tighten around her even more and heard him swallow.

"Fuck, Rachel...if things were diff-"

Rachel cut him off. "Don't say anything, Noah... it's pointless and it's better to just...to just not go there."

He nodded against her head and closed his eyes, concentrating on the sound of his own heart beating in the quiet room. Turning his head toward the clock, he swore softly. He had one hour. One hour and he needed to get home. His mind whirred with possibilities. He could fuck her in the shower...make her ride him until she came apart around him again...bend her over the table...throw her legs over his shoulders and fuck her so hard that she screamed. Or he could lie there with her in his arms and pretend that he didn't have to leave at all until the very last minute clicked away on the clock and his deadline arrived. Instead, he rolled over and pulled himself until he was leaning over her, kissing her softly. His tongue slid over her lips until she parted them and let him in, her arms sliding around his back to pull him to her. They kissed quietly and without a heavy sense of urgency. Rachel memorized his taste and Puck vowed to never forget the feel of her skin. When he finally slid inside her wet channel, he moved slowly and carefully. The minutes ticked down on the clock as the heat between them built and it wasn't until his time was nearly up that he gritted out her name loudly and poured himself inside her as she clung to him, her own release coming over her in waves.

Rachel tucked herself beneath the blankets as she watched him dress in the dark. His biceps flexed as he slid his jeans up and buttoned them. His abdominal muscles rippled as he dropped the shirt over his head and adjusted the hemline. His back muscles moved as he tied his shoes up. And then he turned and bent over her, his lips slanting over hers hotly. When they parted, he locked eyes with her and tried to say the things that his mouth would never say. And then with a soft, "Goodbye, Rachel," he slipped from her room.

When he was gone, Rachel allowed herself to wilt into the blankets and close her eyes, forcing everything but sleep from her mind because it was easier.

* * *

When Rachel woke up the next morning, she rolled over onto her back and cast her eyes toward the shadows on the ceiling. She was leaving. It was time to leave Lima and head back to her life in New York City. Puck's face flashed through her mind and she rolled back onto her side again, grabbing the pillow next to her - the pillow he'd laid on the night before. She pulled it to her nose and inhaled the lingering scent. It was barely there but she could tell that it smelled like him. She felt tears spring into her eyes and she pushed the pillow away and forced herself to roll out of bed. She admonished herself for getting emotional. She knew it did no good. There would be no happy endings. He wouldn't be showing up at her apartment in New York City bearing flowers and a divorce decree like they did in the movies.

He wasn't hers. He never had been.

He never would be.

Rachel showered slowly, her hands gliding over her sore body. Every strained muscle pulled him back into her thoughts and she felt her heart clench over and over again. When a tear slid down her cheek and mingled with the water droplets, she groaned angrily and flipped the water off. Getting emotional was ignorant, she knew. Forcing herself from the shower, she dressed and packed.

Everything was in her bags and ready to go when she did one last check of the room. Dropping to the floor, she checked up the bed and spotted something peeking out. Grasping it, she pulled it out and realized that it was the Air Force sweatshirt that he'd worn that first night. She'd remembered him leaving in just his t-shirt and coat but his missing sweatshirt hadn't even occurred to her. Instinctively, she pulled it against her nose again. It was so heavy with the scent of him that before she even realized what she was doing, she was pulling her sweater off and pulling his sweatshirt on instead. It enveloped her and she hugged it against her body for just long enough to feel the warmth and inhale his scent as it mingled with hers. With a heavy sigh, she grabbed her bags and left the hotel.

Later that morning, after she'd given her fathers hugs and kisses and had cried for twenty minutes, she headed back down the hallway of the hospital toward the parking lot. She was checking her phone for messages when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a woman coming down the hall toward her. Rachel paid no attention to the woman until she stopped short, her gaze falling on the shirt Rachel was wearing. Rachel dropped her own gaze, her eyes skimming over the bright white letters spelling out "Air Force." The red-haired woman looked from the shirt up to Rachel and then back down at the shirt again. Recognition registered in Rachel's brain when she saw the nametag on the shirt of the scrubs the woman was wearing. "Elise." Her mouth fell open as the two eyes of the two women locked. Rachel saw the taller woman's eyes fill with tears and then she was gone, darting down the hall toward the inner belly of the hospital. With a heavy heart, Rachel stepped outside into the weak winter sunlight. It was time to go home.

...

When Puck walked inside the house from his mother's, Elise was standing in the entry hall.

"Hey," he said casually as he pulled his snowy boots off. He felt Elise's eyes burning into him as he bent over in the hallway and knew that they were getting ready to fight again. But when she opened his mouth, it sucked the wind and the fight right out of him.

"I saw her today," Elise said quickly, wringing her hands.

Puck lifted his head and looked at her, confusion on his face. "You saw who?"

"The whore you've been fucking," she spat out angrily.

Puck's face blanched and he looked at her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He pushed passed her and walked into the kitchen, jerking the fridge open. He grabbed a beer and jerked the top off, taking a big drink.

"I saw her, Noah. She was wearing your fucking Air Force sweatshirt!"

Puck looked at her, guilt settling into his eyes. He'd remembered the sweatshirt right after he'd left that first night but by the next, he was so desperate to fuck Rachel again that he'd forgotten about everything else.

"Who is she?" Elise asked. "Because I know that look in your eyes and we both know that you fucked that whore. Who is she?"

"She's not a whore," Puck spat angrily. "And you don't fucking know her...she's an old high school friend."

"How long have you been cheating, Noah? Has this been going on for years?"

Puck snorted angrily. "I've been home for two goddamn weeks, Elise. If you want to talk about long-term affairs, why don't we talk about yours?"

Elise's mouth fell open and her eyes filled with tears. Puck watched the color drain from her face and he smiled smugly, knowing that she'd finally been caught. As hot tears began sliding down her cheeks, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Noah. How did you find out?"

Puck slammed his beer down on the countertop. "I didn't know for sure until this second. Only suspected it when your emails stopped coming so much and you would miss my calls. Fuck, Elise... this is fucking insane. What the hell are we supposed to do now? Pretend that you haven't been fucking around on me for God only knows how long? Pretend that I-" He glanced up at the ceiling and then back at Elise. "Pretend that I haven't spent the last four days fucking another woman?"

Tears continued to fall and Elise reached for Puck's arm, taking it in her hands. "I can forgive yours, Noah, if you can forgive mine."

"I don't know that I want that, Elise." Puck dropped his hands to the countertop and he leaned in, his head tilted toward the floor. He felt sick...and yet somehow relieved that it was all out in the open now. Pushing roughly away from the counter, Puck stalked down the hallway. Elise followed behind him.

"Noah? Where are you going?"

"I don't know. Out."

He pulled open the door, his hand lingering on the knob.

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know."

Elise let out a loud sob. "Are you even coming back?"

Puck turned and looked at her, his eyes shining and locking with hers as he studied her quietly. Taking a deep breath, he answered, "I don't know." And then he was gone, the door clicking softly behind him.


End file.
